Level 4: Connect

We are extremely proud of the overall efforts and persistence of our Level 4 students these past few weeks as we have been working through our assessments. We are slowly approaching the home stretch for Term 2. 

We hope our Level 4 Families enjoy a well-deserved break this weekend.

Literacy

In the past two weeks, students have been actively engaged in learning about various persuasive devices to enrich their writing and effectively engage and convince their audience. To aid in remembering these devices, they have been using the simple acronym AFORREST, which stands for Alliteration, Facts, Opinions, Rhetorical questions, Repetition, Emotive language, Statistics, and Three (rule of). This acronym serves as a helpful guide for students as they practise incorporating these elements into their persuasive pieces.

During this time, students have explored a variety of engaging topics, such as "Books are better than movies," "Recess and lunch should be longer," "Homework should be banned," and "Everybody loves chocolate." These topics have provided a platform for students to practise forming strong stances and expressing their opinions with confidence. By debating and writing about these subjects, students are not only improving their persuasive writing skills but also learning to think critically and articulate their ideas more clearly. The combination of structured learning and creative exploration has resulted in impressive progress, with students demonstrating a deeper understanding of how to craft compelling arguments and engage their readers effectively.

In the next two weeks, our literacy lessons will focus on honing students' persuasive writing skills through engaging activities. We will be introducing debating, where students will use their persuasive writing to construct and expand their arguments. Through debating, students will practise speech delivery and fluency, ensuring they can present their ideas clearly and confidently. These activities will culminate in healthy debates, providing students with a platform to articulate their opinions and engage in respectful, constructive discussions.

Numeracy 

In our Number sessions, we are continuing to explore Division. Division is an essential math skill that helps us share and organise things evenly.

Key Division Skills:

Understanding Division Facts: Just like with multiplication, it's important to remember our division facts. Knowing that 12 ÷ 4 = 3 helps us solve problems quickly and accurately.

Using Multiplication: Division and multiplication are best friends! If we know that 4 x 3 = 12, then we also know that 12 ÷ 4 = 3. Practicing multiplication helps us get better at division.

Problem-Solving: Division helps us solve real-life problems. For example, if we have 24 apples and we want to put them into 6 baskets, we can use division to find out that each basket will have 4 apples.

Critical Thinking: Division requires us to think critically and make sure we're sharing things equally. It's a great way to boost our brainpower!

Patterns and Sequences: Recognising patterns in numbers helps us with division. For example, if we see that 30, 60, and 90 are all divisible by 10, we can use this pattern to solve division problems more easily.

Here is a video from our Numeracy Guru Trudy Gau explaining the 'Area Model' strategy for division.

Inquiry

The students' inquiry projects on History and celebrations and commemorations are shaping up nicely. They have explored various historical events and traditions, covering days such as Bastille Day and St Patrick's Day, as well as festivals like Holi. Through these projects, students are developing a deeper appreciation for global traditions and the ways communities remember and honour their past, while also incorporating how we celebrate and commemorate in Australia.

Our students are eager to share their projects with you at our three-way conferences in week 11. 

We look forward to seeing you same time, same place in a fortnight!

-The Level 4 team: Robyn, Lisa and the Tillys!